Second Chance
by capricious insanity
Summary: Aerith, Cloud, Tifa and Leon's second chance at love. Cloud starts over with Tifa while Aerith is reborn. a story about life being complete bliss and unbearable torture at the same time. A happy ever after is never easy, specially when it's about them.


**Complex Second Chance**

**Cha-11 now under Erise**

**A/N:** This story is sort of like a mixture of FFVII and KH. This fic is inspired by the films Leon the Professional, Birth and the fanfic of daydreamer 198, My Best Friend's Girl.

**Brief Summary**: This story starts off years after Aerith's death in FFVII, in KH's Traverse town. Here, Cloud was traveling different worlds looking for Sephiroth. Tifa manages to trach him down and convinces him to live a less dangerous life with her in Hallow Bastion. While things seem to be finally working great for Tifa and Cloud, Aerith is reborn to a family, somewhere in Hallow Bastion where Leon is just a roof away.

**Warning****: Contains Lolita theme. If you don't like that then don't read and don't flame!**

I was supposed to put this in the FFVII section but I don't know everything about it and I've only played KH… and there's Leon.  
okay… so… on with the story!

* * *

**&&&&&&&&**

**I**

**Forced light**

"You've got to stop this! What's it going do if you kill him?! His life won't bring back Aerith's!"

Tifa yelled as she held unto Cloud's shirt, never softening her grip on his sleeve.. Finally, thank god, finally, she somehow caught up with him. Three years have passed Aerith's death and he was still blaming himself for something he couldn't have stopped. And she was determined to rid him of that guilt and bring him back.

"If you… loved her…"

She felt him stiffen at her words.

"If that love was real, then you shouldn't be doing this."

He was silent as always. But even though he'd never it, she knew that her words pierced his heart.

"She's dead, and there's nothing any one can do to bring her back."

Cloud started to tremble a bit. It hurt her to see him like this, but she had no choice. She had to make him realize that everything was over. _They_ were over.

"Aerith's dead."

Those simple words struck him like lightning and resounded in his head again and again, Echoing inside his heart as well. A throbbing pain consumed his entire being. Tifa saw him kneel in agony, but kept on repeating the horrible truth that he couldn't have prevented, making the pain more unbearable as each syllable left her mouth. She paused as she panted for breath.

"And you're killing her even more like this."

Tears had begun to well up the moment she spoke, and now they were falling down one after another. It hurt her too, to say these words. But they had to be said and repeated, for all of their sakes. She fell to her knees as well, still staring at the fallen angel in front of her.

"She lives in you, in me… in everyone she loved. Do you think she's even happy that you're like this?!"

Her hand immediately released his sleeve and wrapped her arms around his waist. They were both trembling now. Trembling and crying for different but both painful reasons.

"Please Cloud… for Aerith."

The sun seeped into the Vice house and woke the slumbering princess. Her silky black lashes slowly fluttered open, revealing heavenly green eyes. She gently rubbed the sleep from her eyes, yawning as she did so. She pushed back the long locks of silky midnight black hair away from her face. Her hip-length hair tangled a bit as she climbed out of her crib and hurriedly walked to the window near her bed, her lacey spaghetti strapped dress rustling against the gentle air coming from the open window.

Two knocks were heard as Tifa Lockheart closed her bedside drawer and looked at the door.

"Who is it?"

there was a short pause,

"It's me."

A male voice said on the other side of the door, she smiled and pushed back a lock of hair from her face, straightening her skirt as she stood to open the door.

the girl, no longer two and no longer sleeping in a crib, pulled the pastel pink curtains aside and pushed the window open even more, letting the gentle caress of air turn into a cool breeze. The girl was still wearing the same dress, only a bigger size. This time, however, her hair had been cut short, into a clean cut bob with straight fringes.

"Come in Cloud."

Cloud turned the knob and pushed it open with his shoulder. He smiled as he approached her, holding a vanilla cake with exactly 25 candy pink candles burning brightly on this special night.

"Happy birthday Tifa."

He greeted her, his cerulean orbs twinkling with the reflection of the candles. She smiled at him then looked down at the cake he was still holding.

"Cloud, Thank you."

Tifa's smile brightened even more. She took the cake from him and placed it on the table near them, her hazel brown eyes teary as she stared at the flames.

"Make a wish."

* * *

**I know they say if you love somebody  
you should set them free (so they say)  
but it sure is hard to do  
Yeah, it sure is hard to do**

The clock radio on her beside table sang. Ever since she got it, for some sad reason, all the songs that always played when she was around were sad love songs, and though sometimes she found them annoying, she never turned it off or changed the station, the thought never entered her mind.

* * *

Tifa looked at the blonde for a second before blowing out the candles.

"Thank you for everything, Tifa."

He said and his smile grew. His gaze never left her the moment he entered her room. This was it; he could no longer postpone this.

"Traverse town's been great, but we can get your present when we get home."

Tifa's head quickly turned to face him. Staring blankly at him a second as his words registered. Her eyes widened, showing those hazel orbs gleaming with pure joy. She stopped breathing for a second,

"Cloud?"

She had to ask, just to make sure that it really was happening.

* * *

**And I know they say if they don't come back again  
Then it's meant to be ( so they say)  
But those words ain't pulling me through  
Cause I'm still in love with you**

She was supposed to be happy today, actually, she was supposed to be happy everyday. She was only five years old and she lived like a princess. What was wrong with her and whenever she was alone she became melancholic?

* * *

"We can't keep them waiting any longer."

She couldn't hold back the tears any longer and they dropped one after another, just like the time she found him, two years ago, but only this time, these were tears of joy, and she was smiling instead of screaming. Tifa ran to him and wrapped him in a tight embrace. At first, he didn't know whether he should hug her or not, but something inside him made his hesitation disappear and he hugged her back.

* * *

**I spend each day here waiting for a miracle  
But it's just you and me going through the mill  
climbing up a hill**

and not only that, but she got more sad and gloomy, every now and then when she sees the sky, sometimes she even breaks into  
tears.

**This is the long goodbye  
somebody tell me why  
Two lovers in love can't make it  
Just what kind of love keeps breaking a heart?**

Just like what she was doing today. She was staring at the sky, as if she was expecting something. And if she was, what could it possibly be? A star? A meteorite? An asteroid? The moon? These thoughts randomly entered her mind.

**No matter how hard I try  
you're gonna make me cry  
Come on, baby, it's over, let's face it**

**All that's happening here is a long goodbye**

A cloud? She weakly thought and smiled. That would be nice. Her own personal cloud.

* * *

"Tifa! Cloud!"

An ecstatic Yuffie greeted the two as they got off the train, Cloud carrying only a small suitcase.

"Yufffie."

Cloud managed to greet her with a small smile before she nearly tackled him off the ground in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh my God! I thought I'd never see you again!"

Cid smiled and nodded at him,

"I thought that too."

Tifa laughed as Yuffie almost choked Cloud.

* * *

**  
**

**Sometimes I ask my heart did we really**

**Give our love a chance (just one more chance)**

**and I know without a doubt**

**I turned it inside out**

The breeze was extra cold this morning as she felt goose bumps all over her body. She shivered for a moment then stretched her arms and legs.

**And if we walked away  
would make more sense (only self defense)  
But it tears me up inside  
Just to think we still could try**

She looked back at her bed and walked back to it. She straightened out the sheets and puffed the pillow's puffiness back.

* * *

"I thought so too."

Cloud said, catching his breath as Yuffie released him. The petite brunette quickly looked at Cid who also had an alarmed expression; he looked at Tifa. She opened her mouth to say something but Cloud beat her to it.

"But there's no use in being stuck in the past, right?"

He smiled again, and both Yuffie and Cid's faces brightened. Finally, Cloud's guilt was gone and the person that made that disappear was Tifa.

* * *

**How long must we keep riding on this carousel**  
**going round and round and never getting anywhere?  
(On a wing and prayer)**

After fixing he bed, she returned to her chair just next to the window. The song reminded her of the few times when her parents fought. Her dad would always lure her mom with songs like these and apologize over and over again, giving her stuff and promising to be better than ever. And he did as he always promised, and when it was mom's turn, she did the same.

**This is the long goodbye**  
**somebody tell me why  
Two lovers in love can't make it  
Just what kind of love keeps breaking a heart?**

She was still five years old but she saw the world with a bit more maturity than others, and was uniquely capricious. Sometimes, unintentionally, she'd freak out her parents by just being stoic and quiet then hyper and energetic the next.

* * *

They were in a café now; they were updating Cloud on the things that were happening in Hallow Bastion, especially about the heartless.

"There hasn't been any major attack, and fortunately there have only been injuries reported."

Cid informed him before he took another sip of his coffee.

"We're still working out the bugs on the new security system; it has to be prepared for any attack."

"Yeah, it's hard to find able people to fight against attacks. Most of the townspeople are still rebuilding and not many of them can actually fight."

Yuffie added in a sad tone, she loved to fight but hated the casualties. Most of the people that had been injured on the last attack were children.

* * *

**No matter how hard I try  
You're gonna make me cry  
Come on, baby, it's over, Let's face it  
All that's happening here is the long ,goodbye**

It also bothered her parents a tiny bit that they could manage to have a very serious conversation with her and she'd actually remember it after.

**  
**

**This is the long goodbye**  
**somebody tell me why**  
**Two lovers in love can't make it**  
**Just what kind of love keeps breaking a heart?**

Today's special. She thought. It was her fifth birthday and they were going to celebrate it with a zoo in their back yard, with lots of horses, ponies and rabbits.

* * *

They were in a corridor in Ansem's lab. Cloud was looking down at the rocky path beneath them, taking in the vision of ruined buildings in the distance.

"Leon's in charge of security down there."

The brunnete pointed towards the ruined buildings. Tifa was still inside Ansem's lab with Cid, checking out if they had missed something important.

"He still doesn't want other people's help."

* * *

**No matter how hard I try  
you're gonna make me cry  
Come on, baby, it's over, let's face it  
All that's happening here is the long goodbye**

Thinking about these made her grin and made her delicate tiny heart float with happiness.

But she could still feel this bittersweet, yes, bittersweet, pain. Even if she is a child, she still knew different kinds of pain. Most came from her few scolding and fights but this was different from those. She felt happy but it hurt.

* * *

**The long goodbye  
the long goodbye**

**This is the long goodbye  
someone please tell me why**

The child stared at her radio clock, deciding whether she should turn it off or not. Maybe if she did, this weird feeling would go away, or not. Hmmm… maybe she was just hungry.

"Aerith! Come down and eat your breakfast honey!"

Her mom's sweet voice came from the intercom near her.

* * *

"We should go out tonight."

Tifa suggested. Yuffie immediately nodded, and stood up.

"Let's go!"

Cloud gave them a small grin and stood up as well.

"You can help me pick out Tifa's gift."

* * *

**Are you ever coming back again  
Are you ever coming back again  
Are you ever coming back again  
Guess I'm never coming back again**

"I'm coming!"

She happily answered and stood up, not noticing the tears that were thinly trickling down her face until she passed by her oval shaped mirror on her way out. She paused in front of the mirror, shrugged and wiped them away with the back of her hand. Aerith grinned at herself and skipped out of the room.

* * *

"And our stuff."

"Your stuff?"

the petite girl asked. There was a long silence as Yuffie waited for Cloud's answer. Cloud hesitated for a moment then looked at Tifa. She assured him by smiling.

"We're starting over."

And letting go.


End file.
